Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,589,456 shares of the company’s stock after selling 191,189 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 0.9% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.77% of Johnson & Johnson worth $3,012,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1,578.5% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 65,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,584,000 after purchasing an additional 61,421 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.2% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,714,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,933,000 after buying an additional 344,641 shares during the last quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 50,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,148,000 after buying an additional 3,612 shares during the period. America First Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. America First Investment Advisors LLC now owns 126,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,490,000 after buying an additional 2,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $365,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $153.10 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.78%.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.